Hurricane Hugo Destruction Remembered at Winthrop and Across South Carolina

Quick Facts

Walter Hardin, associate vice president for facilities management, was among those interviewed about how Hugo changed the landscape in Rock Hill. "The Big Picture: Hurricane Hugo – 20 Years Later" will air on Thursday, Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m. and again on Sunday, Sept. 20 at noon.

Walter Hardin

ROCK HILL, S.C. - September marks the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Hugo’s blistering path of destruction through South Carolina. SCETV will air a series of television and radio programs on the hurricane during the week of the anniversary.

Walter Hardin, associate vice president for facilities management, was among those interviewed about how Hugo changed the landscape in Rock Hill. The university’s main campus lost 30 major trees and another 100 near Winthrop Coliseum and spent about $750,000 to repair roofs and clean up debris.

"The Big Picture: Hurricane Hugo – 20 Years Later" will air on Thursday, Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m. and again on Sunday, Sept. 20 at noon. Following Hugo's path from Charleston up through Rock Hill, "The Big Picture" also travels back and forth in time, mixing archival interviews, with present-day residents telling their tales of survival, and how their lives have been forever changed. In addition to Hardin’s interview, the documentary also includes interviews with McClellanville Mayor Rutledge B. Leland III, who says if he had to do it over, he would ride the storm out again.

Also on Sunday, Sept. 20 at 3 p.m., ETV Classics presents "Hurricane Hugo: Storm of the Century." This documentary vividly captures the buildup to Hugo and the extensive recovery following the storm along the coast and in the interior of South Carolina. Following at 4 p.m. is the companion program "Storm of the Century: Then and Now." Originally produced in 1994, the program shows how much progress had been made in the rebuilding efforts only five years after the devastation.

Walter Edgar's Journal, which airs Fridays at noon on all ETV Radio stations, will devote Sept. 18 and Sept. 25 to coverage of this anniversary, which not only takes a look back at Hugo, but also towards the next major storm that might hit the Palmetto State.